From the rural hometown settings of Hamel, Minnesota and the river banks of Minneapolis/St. Paul, the blues influence surfaced as early as the mid 1960's for what was to become The Lamont Cranston Blues Band.

Pat (Lamont) Hayes (with his brother Larry) founded the band in 1969 and he hasn't stopped driving the renowned boogie blues train of the one and only Lamont Cranston Band. This Minneapolis based band has a rich history in the music scene, having recorded 14 albums and written and produced a number of hit songs including the chart topping 'Upper Mississippi Shakedown." The band is going strong and turning out new material all the time.

The Cranstons have shared bills with some of the biggest names in the industry including Muddy Waters, Luther Allison, Albert King, Albert Collins, Jimmy Rogers, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Charles Brown, Buddy Guy, Jimmy Thackery, Junior Wells, Keb Mo, Jonny Lang, Robert Cray, Son Seals, Charlie Musselwhite, Earl King, Mighty Joe Young, Sugar Blue, Otis Rush, Elvin Bishop, Little Feat, Delbert McClinton, Koko Taylor, Lonnie Brooks, Percy Sledge, Clarence ‘Gatemouth’ Brown, The Climax Blues Band, Tower Of Power, The Kinks, The Yardbirds, The Animals II, Kansas, Yes, Jeff Healy, Wilson Pickett, Bonnie Raitt, The Blues Brothers and many more. One of the biggest thrills was opening for The Rolling Stones on a leg of their North American tour in 1981. In 2010, the band was inducted in the Mid-America Music Hall Of Fame. Just another of many well-deserved honors the band has been blessed with.

Lamont Cranston has also received the numerous Critic’s Choice AND Reader’s Choice awards for “Best Twin Cities Blues Band” by City Pages.

The band has also been featured regularily on Dan Aykroyd’s House Of Blues Radio Show. In fact, Aykroyd (the original Blues Brother!) is quite fond of Cranston proclaiming, “No one infects venues with the party virus quite like Pat Hayes and The Lamont Cranston Blues Band. They’ve always been my favorite.”

Blues great Bonnie Raitt has also showed Cranston love saying, “It’s great to hear Lamont Cranston back on the scene. Pat Hayes plays some of the baddest harp and guitar around!"